Author: tlkabtmovies
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Netflix Documentaries Worth Seeing
One of the blessings of Netflix (or any other streaming platform these days) is that you almost never run out of content to watch. I say that with full confidence, almost 8 months since the start of the pandemic, which forced me to spend much of my time at home. I miss the cinema experience,…
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The Trial Of The Chicago 7 [2020] ★★★
I love courtroom dramas and I love legendary writer Aaron Sorkin. So what do you get when you fuse the two together? Fireworks. That’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” in a nutshell, a completely absorbing, high octane courtroom drama that hardly misses a beat. Sorkin also directs here, and he has assembled a first-rate…
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The Queen’s Gambit [2020] ★★★½
I know almost nothing about chess. It’s a game that I briefly played when I was younger but never truly picked up again. And yet, I fell in love with “The Queen’s Gambit”, Netflix’s latest limited series that hits all the right notes. How is that possible? Making chess a subject of compelling drama for…
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Holidate [2020] ★★
Star power can save a movie from being a complete waste of time. Case in point: “Holidate”, Netflix’s latest rom-com starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. They play two strangers completely fed up with the pressure of having a date on every holiday, so they decide to be each other’s “plus 1” throughout the year,…
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Rebecca [2020] ★★½
Let’s address the elephant in the room right away: this version of Daphe Du Maurier’s classic book is stylish and well-shot, but it’s nowhere near as good or memorable as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 masterpiece (which won an Oscar for Best Picture and propelled Hitch to Hollywood stardom). So yes, this 2020 Netflix movie has some…
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Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm [2020] ★★½
In a year plagued with uncertainties, the last thing I expected to see was a sequel to 2006’s hit “Borat”. But here’s the thing: when he’s not being a complete goofball, Sacha Baron Cohen’s character tackles subjects that couldn’t be more relevant in today’s society, from the US elections to Covid-19 itself. I wasn’t a…
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The Haunting Of Bly Manor [2020] ★★★½
Many will say that “The Haunting of Bly Manor” isn’t like “The Haunting of Hill House”, but it doesn’t have to be. This is a new story in a new house, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll find it just as captivating as its predecessor. And yes, I binged the hell out of it…
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The Boys In The Band [2020] ★★★
This hidden gem from Netflix is based on a Pulitzer prize-winning play from the 1960’s that still resonates even in 2020. I do suspect that no screen adaptation can do any stage play justice, but with a cast that features Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells and Robin De Jesus, the end result…
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Hubie Halloween [2020] ★½
After his unforgettable performance in last year’s “Uncut Gems”, Adam Sandler goes back to his old, silly self in Netflix’s latest Halloween comedy “Hubie Halloween”. Sandler plays the good-hearted Hubie Dubois, a man devoted to his hometown of Salem. Hubie also happens to love Halloween so much, and this s obviously a setup for a…
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Enola Holmes [2020] ★★½
While far from being great, there’s still something charming and irresistible about “Enola Holmes”, Netflix’s answer to the “Sherlock Holmes” franchise. It helps that it moves at a fast pace. It also helps to have Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) as Enola, Sherlock’s younger sister who also happens to be a sleuth in the making.…
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The Devil All The Time [2020] ★★★
This gritty film from writer director Antonio Campos is one of the finest things you’ll stream on Netflix this year. One story links to another as we follow the journey of a young man (Tom Holland) and the bizarre characters that inhabit a small town in West Virginia. The movie is about many things, but…
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The Paramedic [2020] ★★
In this generic Spanish thriller, Mario Casas plays a paramedic who, after a tragic accident that left him paralyzed, begins to suspect that his girlfriend is cheating on him. This is a setup for a cat and mouse game (think Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”, with Casas wheelchair bound), that sadly leads nowhere. Casas is menacing…
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Cuties [2020] ★
Believe everything being said about this movie, and consider this a public service announcement: “Cuties” is difficult to watch and even more difficult to defend. I don’t usually mind “cautionary tales”, but there is nothing cautionary about this film. The backlash started when a clip from the movie was shared on social media, showing a…
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Everybody Knows [2018] ★★★
I read somewhere that this movie was a “disappointing step back” for writer director Asghar Farhadi. But how do you top movies like “A Separation”, “The Past” and “The Salesman”? “Everybody Knows” may not be Farhadi’s best and most compelling work, but it has an intriguing story to tell and just the right actors to…
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I’m Thinking Of Ending Things [2020] ★★½
First off let me tell you how much I admire screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s work. From “Being John Malkovich” to “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, Kaufman has left his stamp on so many films that are now regarded as “essential viewings”. That being said, I didn’t fully appreciate his latest effort, which you can now…
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Bill & Ted Face The Music [2020] ★★½
Woah. I never expected to see Bill & Ted again, but here we are. In the midst of all the chaos the world is going through, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter offer a tiny bit of hope as they reprise their 1980’s characters that made them famous. “Face the Music” is the first sequel since…
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All Together Now [2020] ★★
Yet another Netflix film about a high schooler who must overcome a lot of obstacles to fulfill her dreams. Auli’i Cravalho is good as Amber Appleton, a teenage girl with musical aspirations who has to juggle several jobs in order to get through high school. But 90 minutes do not do this movie any justice,…
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7500 [2020] ★★½
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on a plane. He plays a young American co-pilot who finds himself dealing with terrorists when his flight from Berlin to Paris is hijacked. Sounds familiar? That’s because you’ve seen movies like “7500” so many times before, from “Turbulence” and “Air Force One” in the 90’s, to “Red Eye” and “Non-Stop” in…
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The Vast Of Night [2020] ★★½
As someone who admired 1950’s B Sci-Fi films for so long, I thought “The Vast Of Night” was a fitting tribute to a bygone era that still entertains audiences even in 2020. Directed by Andrew Patterson and starring Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz, “The Vast Of Night” tells the story of two young adults who…
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Project Power [2020] ★★
It doesn’t take much time for this Netflix action film to take an intriguing premise and turn it into something way too familiar. “Project Power”, starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, imagines a world where a pill can give you unpredictable superpowers for five minutes. But every fairytale has its dark moments, which is why…
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